The only rising national currency was the Japanese Yen, up 0.2%. The Canadian Dollar sank the most, losing 3.1%. The USD fell 1.8%, but its bonds did better, as the short term SHY fell 1.6% and the longer term TLT gained 0.3%.

Cryptos had a great week, finally catching a bid and actually starting to soar. Ethereum was especially strong, gaining 27.5%, but Bitcoin was no slouch, rising 18.0%. These gains seem to be holding and consolidating through the weekend; it will be interesting to see what happens as the year finishes out.

The only equities to rise were the HUI gold stocks, up 0.6%. Losses ranged from 8.7% for the S&P 500 to 5.2% for the Euro STOXX.

Commodities were all in the red, with crude oil taking the worst hit, plunging 12.2%. Cotton was also down strongly, off 9.8%. Copper lost 5.0%, and the precious metals (silver, platinum and palladium) were each down 1.1%.

I wish you the very happiest of holiday seasons, and look forward to tracking the markets with you in 2019! Merry Christmas!